We know that our eyes can be the first sense that we “eat” with, and being able to make a dish look more appealing from an aesthetic point of view can be just as important as nutritional value. So, if want to make dishes that look beautiful, and impress your friends with some cool chefy skills, why not invest in a spiral slicer?
COURGETTE NOODLES
A spiral slicer is a fabulously simple piece of kitchen equipment that will help to transform hard fruits and vegetables into beautiful “pasta” and noodle-like strips.
They are relatively in-expensive to buy, easy to use and clean up is quick and easy. A great investment if you are trying to avoid wheat pasta, as vegetable noodles are a much lighter and healthier alternative.
Very simply remove ends from carrots, courgettes, sweet potatoes, small marrows, cucumber etc, and secure them on the spikes in the machine. Then manually turn the handle and your vegetables will be cut into decorative noodles right before your eyes. Make a simple pesto or marinara sauce and gently toss into the noodles for a stunning main course!
There are several models on the market such as the Lurch Spiralizer (featured above) the Lurch Spiralo, the Saladacco and also a small hand-held spiral cutter by Gefu.
SALADACCO SPIRAL SLICER
I bought the Saladacco a couple of years ago because it was smaller than the Lurch and I wanted to save some space in the kitchen. It’s a great little machine, however, I do now have the Lurch-type model on my wish-list due to the fact that you can make a thicker and more stable noodle with it. It is also more versatile than the Saladacco and comes with a range of accessories for making different garnishes, ribbons and shapes.
With the Saladacco I found that the courgette noodles would be a little too watery, but it’s great for making garnishes out of drier veggies like carrots.
You can buy a spiral slicer for between €30-40 online. They are not so easy to find in the high street yet, though I’m sure some department stores would now stock some models. Check out sites like Amazon, Ebay and Done Deal for a great selection and really competitive prices.